South Florida man faces deportation in PPP fraud case

A South Florida man facing prison for his role in stealing millions from a federal COVID-19 loan program not only faces a prison term but also another consequence of his crime — loss of his naturalized citizenship and possible deportation to his native Haiti.

That punishment looms because of a wrinkle in

U.S. immigration law that allows the government to revoke the citizenship of people who were engaged in crimes at the time they applied — even if they had not yet been arrested for or convicted of them.

In November, Joff Stenn Wroy Philossaint, 32, had admitted guilt to helping about a dozen South Florida businesses apply for $3 million in phony loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program meant to help struggling companies pay for their employees and other overhead costs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philossaint also admitted that the network of companies received $2 million in PPP loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, according to court records. And he admitted that he collected a 10% commission fee from five other defendants named in his indictment, records show.

But another charge — whether he’d lied on a naturalization form about his criminal history while his citizenship was pending — went before a Fort Lauderdale federal court jury, which found him guilty earlier this week.

According to evidence presented on Monday, Philossaint applied to become a U.S. citizen in April 2020. While that application was pending, prosecutors said Philossaint orchestrated his COVID-19 loan scheme in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. On Dec. 15, 2020, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer interviewed Philossaint about